New details shed light on mystery over why NRL star Brandon Smith was questioned by police as soon as he flew to Queensland
Smith, 29, was interviewed by police at Coolangatta shortly after arriving on his flight from Sydney.
Rabbitohs CEO Blake Solly said Smith was with teammates on Saturday evening at a Broadbeach hotel, but gave no details about what happened during the side's airport arrival.
Queensland Police released the following statement on the matter: 'Queensland Police had cause to speak to a 29-year-old male at Coolangatta Airport.
'The male was later released without charge. Police have no further information to provide.'
Now News Corp and NRL 360 journalist Phil 'Buzz' Rothfield has shed some light on the incident.
'There's no suggestion of any wrongdoing or that Smith played up on the plane which, when police pull someone aside at an airport, that's normally the case,' Rothfield said on the Big Sports Breakfast radio show on Monday.
'Souths were filing off the plane heading to luggage and Queensland police took Smith aside and spoke to him for a considerable amount of time.
'Souths aren't telling us the reason why, his manager isn't telling us. What I'm told is that there was an issue that has happened in the last 12 months while Brandon Smith was in Queensland and police are looking into it.
'They have been trying to track Brandon for some time. When they couldn't get hold of him, they said they saw he was coming to the Gold Coast and they wanted to chat to him.
There's no suggestion of any wrongdoing by the popular star, who played against the Titans on Sunday afternoon.
In Australia, offences on aircraft fall under federal jurisdiction because air travel is regulated by Commonwealth laws.
The Australian Federal Police handle these matters nationwide.
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